By all accounts he either does NOT want to play wing, or is just unable to perform well outside of the center position.

I see the point Abe but my question is has he ever REALLY been TAUGHT wing?..Simply throwing him there for a few shifts or a game or two does not constitute teaching him a new position, especially at this level.

I can see the "Trade Staal" idea, and for the right return I am open to it, but taking an offseason and training camp to at least teach him the position of wing before trading him would at the very least allow the Pens to exhaust every option on him.

By teaching I don't mean from square one, but learning a new position takes time, time that is NOT available during the season. I just haven't seen enough of him on a wing to be satisfied he can't play there.

And as far as him "not wanting" to play wing, if he starts scoring goals and his point total starts going up, he will LEARN to like it happily.

Jesse wrote:I've watch Tangradi play about 15 times in Belleville. Did you? Probably not. You'd rather dig up your "empirical data" than actually discuss what kids do ON THE ICE. Tangradi was a long shot to even MAKE the WJC last year. He certainly didn't have a good tournament. But screw it, let's forget everything the kid did on the ice that year in Belleville and focus on that tournament.

The kid has NHL tools. Ask anyone that has seen him play. He's a 6'4, 221 lb wing that has been putting his game together more and more. The coaching staff in Belleville has done an awesome job with this kid. It's not my fault you'd rather read Mirtle's data on age in comparison to NHL success than actually watch kids play hockey and make judgements based on that.

Seriously, save the personal insults. You have no idea who I am or how much hockey I watch. I watched several Team USA games and Tangradi was less than a non-factor in his last year of WJC eligibility. Why are you so emotional about this? Data is something I use because it is objective and can be quantified. I've had ExpressVu since the Nimiq satellite was launched in 1998. I've watched the WJC, OHL, and Memorial Cup every year since then. I've had Center Ice since 1995. I've been a Pens STH since 92, and watched NHL hockey on CBC and other Canadian channels since the 70s. I didn't wait for the Internet to watch JR hockey. I've been watching JR hockey, the OHL, WHL, QMJHL, Memorial Cup, etc since you probably were in grade school. I didn't wait for Cable to get Center Ice, I bought a satellite dish. I didn't wait for the Internet to watch TSN, Sportsnet, CBC, etc, I bought another Satellite dish and set up address in Hamilton, ON so I could watch CDN TV while living in PGH. When I watch JR hockey it is on a large screen, HD (Memorial Cup, WJC, etc) and I can rewind it an infinite # of times on the PVR to watch it at my convenience, see how players perform in slow motion, etc. I have my ExpressVu PVR set to record Tavares vs. Moon on Sunday at 3PM. Do you? I didn't think so. I doubt there are many people that go to greater lengths to watch hockey than I do. I don't whine like a baby because ESPN doesn't show hockey on SC. When I watch SC it is on TSN so it is wall to wall hockey. I could go on and on, but what is the point? You know I don't watch hockey and all I do is pull stats from Mirtle. It wasn't even Mirtle that did the analysis by the way, it was Gabe Desjardins.

I watched Kunitz play in all the Ducks Cup finals and Conference finals games and most of the games in the 2 rounds before that. My opinions on him and Tangradi are not only based on stats. I doubt there are many people posting in this thread that even heard about Tangradi before this trade, much less watched him play. Why do you have to act like them? Grow a thicker skin, it isn't a personal insult because somebody disagrees with you. Respect the rules of the forum.

Lucic was out of line there. He hit Brown 5 to 10 times while he was on the ice. Brown wasn't even the guy that cross checked him. That kind of behavior will come back to haunt Lucic some day. If he doesn't show other players respect he won't get any back and it is only a matter of time until he is on the opposite end of some kind of cheap shotting action.

How annoying is Jack Edwards? He is at the top of my most annoying homer announcer list.

This game has been a real lopsided affair but I can't stop watching it because I'm waiting for what nasty stuff happens next. The Ducks aren't the kind of team to go out quietly and without their own share of thuggery.

The Ducks played like a team waiting for the other shoe to drop tonight.. The Pronger and Niedermayer trade rumors have them wondering if they are trying to win this season. They need the trade deadline to pass so they can focus on the rest of the season.

The Ducks played like a team waiting for the other shoe to drop tonight.. The Pronger and Niedermayer trade rumors have them wondering if they are trying to win this season. They need the trade deadline to pass so they can focus on the rest of the season.

Draftnik, do you think the Ducks will undergo a major change in philosophy now that Burke is gone?..trading Kunitz, who to me is a "Burke kind of guy" signals the beginning of the end of that way of life. Though Pronger could be moved and Whitney might be protection against losing several D-men. I just wonder if the culture there will or is going to change.

Facing the prospect of missing the playoffs after appearing in last year's Stanely Cup Finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins tried to rekindle last year's magic by acquiring another scoring wing for Sidney Crosby. It may not be Marian Hossa, but it's a move that our simulations say will help the Pens' playoff push.

With the NHL trade deadline less than a week away, Pittsburgh sent young defenseman Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks for winger Chris Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi.

Having already tallied 16 goals, Kunitz gives the Penguins a winger to pair with Crosby, something the team has been struggling with since watching Marian Hossa leave via free agency before the season, after acquiring Hossa at the deadline last year. Since Hossa left, the Penguins have tried options like Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko, but can't seem to find a winger to mesh with their superstar center.

In simulations, Kunitz gives the Penguins a boost that could land them in the postseason. Pittsburgh was making the playoffs in 42.6 percent of simulations, but thanks to an extra 1.5 points in simulations with Kunitz, the Penguins now have a 50 percent chance of making the post-season. Of course, the simulations assume that Kunitz and Crosby will have good chemistry together, and as we've seen with Satan and Fedotenko this season, that's not a guarantee.

In terms of improving their playoff chances, the move is questionable for the Ducks, currently tied for the West's eighth and final playoff spot. Not only do they give up a winger who is under contract for a few more years, but they also give up a young power forward prospect, and in return they get an offensive-defenseman in Ryan Whitney.

At the moment Whitney's talents aren't a dire need, given the presence of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger on the roster. As is, the trade only improves the Ducks' playoff chances by 1.1 percent. However, that could change if Anaheim decides to deal one of its two veterans before the deadline. Until then, we'll be curiously waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Has anyone seen any statements/interviews from Kunitz? We've already heard from Tangradi and Whitney, but nothing from Kunitz. Do you think he made the trip to Chicago today so he can participate in the morning skate tomorrow and potentially play tomorrow night? With Minard and Pesonen down and Wallace up, I would hope they were planning on Kunitz playing tomorrow.

Last edited by Soon5one4 on Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Soon5one4 wrote:Has anyone seen any statements/interviews from Kunitz? We've already heard from Tangradi and Whitney, but nothing from Whitney. Do you think he made the trip to Pittsburgh today so he can participate in the morning skate tomorrow and potentially play tomorrow night? With Minard and Pesonen down and Wallace up, I would hope they were planning on Kunitz playing tomorrow.

Soon5one4 wrote:Has anyone seen any statements/interviews from Kunitz? We've already heard from Tangradi and Whitney, but nothing from Whitney. Do you think he made the trip to Pittsburgh today so he can participate in the morning skate tomorrow and potentially play tomorrow night? With Minard and Pesonen down and Wallace up, I would hope they were planning on Kunitz playing tomorrow.

Kunitz was flying to Chicago this afternoon. I'm sure he'll play tomorrow.

Soon5one4 wrote:Has anyone seen any statements/interviews from Kunitz? We've already heard from Tangradi and Whitney, but nothing from Whitney. Do you think he made the trip to Pittsburgh today so he can participate in the morning skate tomorrow and potentially play tomorrow night? With Minard and Pesonen down and Wallace up, I would hope they were planning on Kunitz playing tomorrow.

noway he won't play tomorrow.

he was probably in boston anyway.

Yeah, he was in Boston - he received the news of the trade at the end of the morning skate. I thought I heard somewhere that he later flew to Chicago? That doesn't necessarily mean he's playing, and I can't recall where I heard/read that...

The Ducks played like a team waiting for the other shoe to drop tonight.. The Pronger and Niedermayer trade rumors have them wondering if they are trying to win this season. They need the trade deadline to pass so they can focus on the rest of the season.

Draftnik, do you think the Ducks will undergo a major change in philosophy now that Burke is gone?..trading Kunitz, who to me is a "Burke kind of guy" signals the beginning of the end of that way of life. Though Pronger could be moved and Whitney might be protection against losing several D-men. I just wonder if the culture there will or is going to change.

Bob Murray is kind of an old school guy like Burke so I don't think they will go soft. Murray has picked up some tough guys like Brown and Brookbank. Burke picked up MA Bergeron (a year or 2 ago) and Hedican this season so the Ducks have acquired some non-aggressive Dmen in the past. Niedermayer could be going back to NJ at the deadline, could retire, could sign elsewhere as an UFA next season. Pronger has been rumored to be on the block as well. This move seems like Whitney will backfill for one of those guys being moved, although obviously not filling anything close to the toughness provided by Pronger.